Press

Espresso Myths Exposed

Espresso coffee, while apparently a simple drink, is in reality a complex product. It is derived from 1500 chemical substances (800 volatile and 700 soluble). When prepared correctly it involves 13 independent chemical and physical variables. There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding espresso. We'd like to debunk a few of them.

Myth #1: Espresso carries more of a caffeine jolt than regular brewed coffee.
FALSE: The illy blend is obtained by carefully selecting from different sources the best Arabica beans, which have a richer taste and a lower caffeine content than the lesser prized (and less expensive) Robusta beans. Because a cup of espresso takes no more than 30 seconds to brew, less caffeine, which is soluble in water, is extracted than in drip coffee—which takes anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes.

Myth #2: Coffee is bad for your health.
FALSE: Modern science, since the 1970s, has been discovering ways in which coffee is good for you.  It protects against diabetes, liver disease, gallstones, has powerful antioxidants to retard aging, and the caffeine in coffee keeps the mind alert for everyday tasks.

Myth #3: Espresso is hard to prepare.
TRUE AND FALSE: Traditional espresso preparation is complicated unless you are properly trained. That is why Dr. Ernesto Illy and his team developed the Easy Serving Espresso (E.S.E.) system and most recently, iperEspresso. Their objective was to find a way to create a perfect cup of espresso—a happy outcome of that quest was a method that was also convenient and simple.

Myth #4: Bigger is better.
FALSE: Large cups don't do espresso justice. It's a perfect example of less is more. The proper portion of espresso is one ounce, and the cup should be very small so that it holds the heat. Thick china cups are preferred. Large cups dissipate the heat and the crema (foam) which carries the aroma in a fine cup of espresso.

Myth #5: The darker the roast, the better the espresso.
FALSE: Over roasted coffee loses all its complex flavors—they go up the chimney and leave you only with bitterness. Illy carefully roasts its coffee to the optimum level to bring out all the flavors inherent in the bean. Illy purchases only Arabica beans for its blend and sorts the beans using electronic instruments which evaluate the color and automatically reject beans that are either too green or overripe. About 50 coffee beans are needed to produce one cup of espresso, and only one bad bean can ruin its flavor. In order to better balance the aroma, illy prepares the blend from nine different lots of Arabica before roasting and uses an air cooling system versus the more common water cooling system.

Myth #6: Espresso has an unpleasant bitterness.
FALSE: There are a number of prominent organoleptic factors in a good cup of espresso: acid, roasty flavor, creaminess, bitterness all come together in a magic union that equals satisfaction. The finish of a cup of espresso properly includes a little well-harmonized bitterness; taste it in context with everything else, and you'll understand why espresso lovers crave it.

Myth #7: Coffee, like wine, is best when it originates from a single region.
FALSE: Coffee from one region only can be uni-dimensional. Illy makes only one blend of coffee and this one blend is made of nine different types of Arabica coffee.  The skillful and balanced blending of the beans is the perfect blend of coffee with layers and layers of complexity.

Myth #8: Coffee doesn’t taste as good as it smells.
FALSE: Espresso is the one style of coffee that’s designed to carry into the cup all the aroma of the beans. One of the joys of espresso is that it tastes as good as it smells – maybe better!

Myth #9: Freeze your coffee for freshness.
FALSE: Freezing the coffee coagulates the natural oils contained in the bean. In an espresso, those oils emulsify to produce the wonderful body of this special cup of coffee. Refrigerate, but don’t freeze coffee.

Myth #10: Lemon peel is the proper garnish for a cup of espresso.
FALSE: Lemon peel is not traditional in Italy. It is used to counteract the taste of over-roasted, bitter espresso. The oil in the peel blocks the bitterness. There is no need for lemon peel in a proper cup of espresso.